Hawaii lawmakers plan to focus on relationships in divided Congress | News, Sports, Jobs

“I of course had hoped for a different outcome in the House as a Democratic majority is more reflective of the mainstream of Hawaii voters and values,” Rep. Ed Case, who is completing his eighth full year of serving Hawaii, said on Wednesday. “There’s no question that overall it’s better to serve in the majority, and I fear the incoming Republican majority will continue to be influenced by a view that fundamentally disrespects our democracy.”

Republicans achieved a majority in the House with 220 GOP members compared to 212 Democrats, the Associated Press reported as results of more races were finalized this month.

But Case, who spent his first four years in office in the minority and the last four years in the majority, said that the outcome in the House “is what the voters of our country have chosen, and so I need to work with the new majority to deliver results for our Hawaii and country.”

The lawmaker for Hawaii’s First Congressional District that covers urban Oahu says there is “no real difference” in how he will work his priorities through now that Republicans are in power.

JILL TOKUDA

“As one member of a small two-member delegation out of 435 voting members of the House, I still need to develop and strengthen relationships with my colleagues and others, find and work with fellow travelers of whatever party who share my goals, help other members to achieve their goals where I can, and forge solutions that can actually pass a deeply divided Congress,” Case said. “I will definitely be building on my seniority, relationships and work to date.”

Incoming freshman Rep. Jill Tokuda, who represents Hawaii’s Second Congressional District that includes rural Oahu and the Neighbor Islands, is also focused on finding issues that other lawmakers can agree on.

“I hope to use my first term in the House to build relationships with my congressional colleagues,” she said. “Instead of focusing on the partisan issues that divide us, I really want to center on the major issues that we all agree are affecting families across the country — the need to increase affordable housing, access to health care in rural communities and quality education for our keiki.”

She also says it is “critical to bring aloha and civility back to Capitol Hill.”

“It doesn’t matter if you are from a red state, a blue state or a purple state, if you are willing to sit down and talk about the issues, I’m willing to work with you to push our shared proposals or priorities through,” Tokuda said on Wednesday.

BRIAN SCHATZ

Although Republicans regained control of the House, the expected “red wave” of Republicans being elected to office did not materialize.

“This midterm election was presented as a stark choice between focusing on inflation, the cost of living, crime and other concerns on the one hand, and defending democracy, a woman’s right of choice and the social safety net on the other,” Case said. “But voters saw it differently; they were concerned about all of these issues, but more concerned about making democracy work, delivering real results and avoiding polarizing extremes, and they said yes or no to candidates who spoke to those broader concerns. Even if the specific outcomes in the House was not what I wanted, I felt a renewed faith in our democracy and our collective ability to address our challenges together.”

Tokuda added that “a lot could be said about why the ‘red wave’ did not materialize in the House as predicted,” but said for her, “it comes down to messaging and how the candidates resonated with voters at the polls.”

“While some voters will focus solely on the divisive partisan issues, at the end of the day, I believe that most voters want to know how you (as a candidate) are going to better their lives and the lives of their families and community,” she said.

Tokuda said she felt that Democrats “had a stronger message and did better” than their Republican counterparts at communicating how the House is going to move the country forward.

MAZIE HIRONO

As for her priorities, Tokuda said she is passionate about achieving access to quality health and mental health care services that really affect rural communities, including Maui Nui.

She said COVID highlighted the inequality of options in these communities, which do not have the same access to health care services as those in urban Honolulu.

“We must look at solutions such as mobile health clinics, increased funding for remote and online counseling, and higher education financial incentives for health professional serving underserved areas,” Tokuda said.

Case said that throughout his service in Congress he has prioritized his work in “three buckets,” which are to contribute to national leadership for the country and the world; assure that Hawaii’s needs are addressed by the federal government; and assist constituents with their own individual concerns.

“I hope and expect to continue as a member of the House Appropriations Committee, responsible for allocating some $1.6 trillion in funding to federal government agencies, departments and organizations on an annual basis,” Case said. “Membership on this powerful committee not only allows me to address national issues, but to ensure that Hawaii gets its fair show of federal dollars, which is critical, for example, to continue funding the ongoing work to safely and expeditiously close the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Facility and address related health concerns.”

On the Senate side, Democratic Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz will be focused on infrastructure issues.

“I want to keep making sure we invest in transportation infrastructure for Maui County, that’s highways, but that’s also harbors, and airports,” Schatz said of his plans if reelected during an interview with The Maui News earlier this month before the midterms.

“I think we need to do more on housing,” he added.

The senior senator said that one of the things he is proud of as chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee is “we made the biggest investment in the Native Hawaiian community in the federal government’s history.”

“Given the historic injustice it’s not nearly enough, but its an important start,” he said.

The funding this year includes $22.3 million for the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, which was the “highest level of funding for Native Hawaiian housing ever,” Schatz said in a news release in October.

One of his highest priorities going forward is to continue to invest in health care, education and broadband and housing for Native Hawaiians.

In the Senate, Democrats have the 50 seats needed to maintain control, while Republicans have 49, though a runoff in Georgia on Dec. 6 could determine just how close the margin of power is.

If the Democratic power had shifted, Schatz was prepared to deal with it, noting “the door swings both ways in Washington and you have to be able to operate effectively whether you are in the majority or minority.”

He also noted that of his 10 years in the Senate, he has spent six in the minority and four in the majority.

He said he has picked committees that are “unusually bipartisan,” such as the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Indian Affairs Committee.

In the latter, Schatz said he has a friendship with Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, his vice chairperson. If Republicans had taken power, he expected her to become chairperson of the committee and he, the vice chairman.

But he expected to still be in good position as there is a Hawaii-Alaska relationship and the two care for the priorities of Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians, Schatz said.

With Democrats maintaining control of the Senate, Sen. Mazie Hirono said in a statement Wednesday that “I’ll keep fighting to build on the progress we’ve made on the issues that matter most to families in Hawaii — lowering costs, supporting our keiki, kupuna, and the Native Hawaiian community, and defending democracy and the reproductive freedom of every person in Hawaii and across our country.”

She added that over the past two years, “Democrats have delivered for families and communities across Hawaii and our country. Across the nation, people showed their support for the Democratic agenda of lowering costs, cutting working-class taxes, saving Medicare and Medicaid, protecting reproductive freedom and so much more — not extreme MAGA politics.”

* Melissa Tanji can be reached at mtanji@mauinews.com.